Tag Archives: The New York Times Best Seller list

Tracey Garvis Graves, the New York Times bestselling author of On the Island, returns.

What if the life you wanted, and the woman you fell in love with, belonged to someone else?

Chris and Claire Canton’s marriage is on life support. Downsized during the recession and out of work for a year, Chris copes by retreating to a dark place where no one can reach him, not even Claire. When he’s offered a position that will keep him away from home four nights a week, he dismisses Claire’s concern that time apart could be the one thing their fragile union can’t weather. Their suburban life may look idyllic on the outside, but Claire has never felt so disconnected from Chris, or so lonely.

Local police officer Daniel Rush used to have it all, but now he goes home to an empty house every night. He pulls Claire over during a routine traffic stop and runs into her again at the 4th of July parade. When Claire is hired to do some graphic design work for the police department, her friendship with Daniel grows, and soon they’re spending hours together.

Claire loves the way Daniel makes her feel, and the way his face lights up when she walks into the room. Daniel knows that Claire’s marital status means their relationship will never be anything other than platonic. But it doesn’t take long before Claire and Daniel are in way over their heads, and skating close to the line that Claire has sworn she’ll never cross.

Chris and Claire Canton never saw it coming. First they are living a nice and comfortable life with their two children. Then from one day to the next, Chris loses his job, struggles with the idea of not being able to financially support his family, and falls into a depression, which cuts right into the heart of their marriage.

When love in a marriage fizzles out, when the only topics between people who once loved each other revolve around mundane daily chores or the children, some people pack their bags and leave, start over. Others remain in their marriages and suffer behind closed doors while showing a different face to the outside world. Claire remains in her marriage in the hope that things would improve. When Chris finally gets a job, she’s hopeful that their relationship will finally heal, but things go from bad to worse. Now they have other problems facing them. Chris’s job keeps him away from her and the kids for long stretches of time. And when he is home, he doesn’t notice her and sleeps in a separate room.

While Claire takes care of the day to day responsibilities, her marriage unravels and loneliness overwhelms her. Then Daniel Rush, a handsome policeman, enters her life, making her heart beat faster, making her feel like a desirable woman again. As they draw closer, she can’t get Daniel out of her head. Driven by both desire and mounting guilt, Claire sways between being faithful to the man she married—the man who no longer fulfills her as a woman—or giving herself to a man who would give anything to do just that. Until she reaches a point where Chris’s indifference and his time away from home no longer shreds her heart.

Will Claire offer her heart and body to another man that’s not her husband, or will she and Chris find a way back to each other before they reach a point of no return? You have to read the book to find that out.

This was a heart-wrenching story. With every page, my heart did not only bleed for Claire but for all the three people in the love triangle. Someone was bound to get hurt in the end.

This beautiful book about broken love, forgotten promises, and new beginnings, pulls you right in, planting you in the heart of the story. You won’t be on the outside looking in. The story will hit a chord with many married people, especially those who try to hold a marriage together from a distance.